


Evergreen

by hmmaster



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Future Character Death, Future Fic, Kid Fic, M/M, Scisaac - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-24
Updated: 2013-06-24
Packaged: 2017-12-16 00:20:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/855646
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hmmaster/pseuds/hmmaster
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Isaac had wondered since he was little what it would have been like to have been born a tree. It took him far too many years to learn what that was like.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Evergreen

It took Isaac twenty-two years to learn what life would be like if he had been born a tree.

When he was nine, he had been on a hiking trip with his mother and had asked, "Mom, what do trees think about when they shed their leaves when it gets cold? Don't you think it would hurt?"

Isaac's mom had been an avid gardener with a botany degree from UCLA. So the moment he had asked, she explained that plants do not have nerve endings and couldn't think or feel pain.

Isaac's first winter took place that following year, when his mother died in a horrific car accident. It had been the first instance of a tragedy that he remembered, that was something significant. Life changed for him then, his father slowly growing into the man he would become.

But eventually, things had settled into a happy calm with just he and his father and Camden. His dad had been depressed more than angry, never really losing that grieving edge.

When Isaac was twelve, his second winter brought the news that Camden had died in combat. And that winter lasted for four years.

Abuse. Anger. Torture. Closed. Tight. _Pain._ Each had been like a cold snap, too frequent for any new growth so that Isaac could flourish, could escape his inner misery.

Isaac finally started to see the last of the snow melting when the supernatural started to tumble into his life. It uprooted his understanding of literally everything he was and could be, changed his life forever.

The kanima had been a creature of vengeance, and Isaac's initial reaction had been relief the moment he learned his father was murdered. He hated himself for that relief, relief that unburdened his shoulders from his abusive life. He regretted his father's relief.

And then the Bite took him far away from that, to a place of power and strength. Isaac wondered if that had been what Camden had felt when he wore the uniform for the first time, when he had stepped on the desert sand carrying a rifle.

For the first time in a long time, Isaac felt the vestiges of spring. Tiny glimpses of what life would be like without pain finally started to appear, but it wasn't perfect. He still dreamt about tight spaces, about shards of glass, about baseball bats. He had wished for a long time that he could shut his brain off, even if only for a little while, so that he could get some sleep.

The constant conflicts in Beacon Hills had only been a distraction to him, a distraction from branching out and reaching others. Battles were fought and bonds were formed, but some were more powerful than others.

His time with the Pack had taught him so many things, but not always the things he had expected. Each had been a catalyst to his growth in his or her own way, and he would always be grateful to them.

"Daddy!"

Isaac turned to see a smiling little girl with deep brown eyes and wild brown hair. The three-year-old bounced on her heels, something in her hand and she threw her arms around him. "Victoria!" He hugged back. "What's that in your hands?"

She grinned, a face full of sunshine. "You asked me to bring it for you! Auntie A told me to come over."

Isaac looked up gratefully at the car parked on the edge of the lot, waving his thanks to Allison. She forced a smile through her tears, and seeing the sight of her so sad made him sad all over again.

Victoria opened her palm, revealing the tiny piece of a pine cone. She made to give it to him, but Isaac cut her off.

"No, pup, why don't you do it?" He guided her over to a special place that he had okayed with the management beforehand. "We're going to plant this here, all right?"

"Why here?" she asked, already in the curious stage of being a toddler. "What for?"

"Because it would mean a lot to me if you would. It's for someone special, just like you." He bopped her on the nose and she giggled before nodding and showing off all her teeth.

He watched her carefully, begging for the innocence of a little sprout just barely rising from the earth. After a few moments, the pine seed was in the ground, and Isaac had to wipe a tear from his eye.

"Why are you crying, Daddy?"

"Because I know what it's like to be a tree now."

"Oh, you're so silly!" Victoria laughed for what seemed like hours as he shooed her back to the car, grinning along with her.

Isaac knew it sounded silly, but he really did know what it was like. Within each dark period of his life, something bright eventually brought a renewal. Something always cut through the grim and harsh winter to bring him happiness again, and despite what he had been going through for the last two and a half years, he knew there was something good that would bring him out of it.

The bundle of joy known as Victoria McCall would eventually bring him happiness again, and she was already making her mark. Isaac knew he'd reach summer eventually, but it was taking its time. He sighed deeply, looking over at the grave.

Scott's headstone was simple; no words could ever be enough to honor the mastery of the human condition that was Scott McCall. Silver-tipped flowers adorned the right side, and a small torch-like flame endured on the left side; a bit of Allison and Stiles to honor him.

His strength and love and total compassion had been Isaac's first summer, but even that faded to autumn and eventually winter.

Throughout his life, Scott had never let tragedy truly affect him. He brushed it off like it was nothing, despite the fact that it truly did hurt him deep down. Isaac had admired his ability to live through any kind of pain with a smile on his face. Scott had constantly renewed himself from tragedy, acting like a rock that Isaac could cling to, a ledge to support him. Scott had been the sunshine to save him from the dark far too many times to count. 

Isaac was not sure what kind of tree he was, but Scott had been an evergreen.


End file.
